


An apple a day

by Estelle



Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Insecurity, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:20:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22376347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estelle/pseuds/Estelle
Summary: There's a new doctor at the hospital, and Luke and Reid both don't like that for various reasons.
Relationships: Reid Oliver/Luke Snyder
Comments: 8
Kudos: 32





	An apple a day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CSIFan3](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CSIFan3/gifts).



> Gwen and me were texting, when something autocorrected to "Edvard" and she was like "Wait, who's Edvard?"  
> Me: "No idea, but looking at the spelling, he seems to be Scandinavian. And given the topic of this conversation, he's probably gay."  
> His last name comes from another autocorrect fail, and two years later, I've finally written this story.  
> And I gotta say, I'm ridiculously proud of the title XD

Rationally, Reid understood why the new doctor was so popular at Oakdale Memorial. Dr. Edvard Install was the new cardiologist, having arrived from Norway two weeks ago, and he was charming, nice, and actually good at his job. He was also – not that Reid would ever admit _that_ out loud – extremely good-looking.  
Usually, of course, Reid couldn’t care less about the hospital gossip, and who liked who, and which of his coworkers were considered hot, so he hadn’t paid much attention to the new doctor beyond confirming that he knew what he was doing professionally, but then, _Luke_ had mentioned liking him the other day, and now he couldn’t stop thinking about that.  
Apparently, he had been in a meeting about the foundation, and Luke had come home basically singing his praises, saying how nice and funny and helpful he was, and Reid didn’t like it one bit.  
He had never been insecure, and he knew that pretty much everyone would describe his confidence as arrogance, but he was also self-aware enough to know that he wasn’t exactly the nicest person, and generally considered difficult to get along with.  
Of course it was different with Luke, he actually, genuinely made an effort here, because he did not want to ruin what they had, but that was exactly the point. This was _Luke_. Luke, who had the biggest heart, and the kindest personality, and who deserved someone warm and kind and sweet. Someone like Dr. Install, as much as Reid hated that thought.

So when he got home that evening, he wasn’t exactly in the best mood. He didn’t even say anything, just went straight to the kitchen, and started preparing a sandwich.  
Luke, who had been sitting on the sofa reading a magazine, of course noticed, and joined him, tentatively placing a hand on his back.  
“Is everything okay?”  
Reid just shrugged, and Luke frowned, now obviously concerned.  
“Reid? Did something happen at work? Did one of your patients...”  
He broke off, his tone soft and uncertain, and Reid got what he wanted to ask, and he sighed. Here he was, acting like an arsehole, while Luke once again proved that he was the kindest and most amazing person on the planet.  
He put the knife down, and turned to face him. “I love you.”  
Luke’s eyes widened, and clearly surprised, he took a deep breath. “I, uhm… Reid? I mean, of course I love you too, but you do realise that this seems a lot like you want to confess something bad, right?”  
“Oh.” Reid frowned, then stepped a little closer to Luke, raising his hand to cup his cheek, and Luke immediately leaned into the touch.  
“It’s nothing like that, I promise”, he reassured him. “It’s just...” And he still couldn’t believe that he was doing this, opening up and talking about _feelings_. “You’re amazing, always here for me, putting up with my moods, and I don’t tell you nearly enough how much I appreciate that. Appreciate _you_.”  
“Reid!” Luke was beaming now, and Reid could see that his eyes had become a little misty, and maybe being vulnerable was worth it to see a look like that on his face.  
Luke leaned forward then, kissing him soundly, and Reid instantly pulled him closer, thinking that maybe, he didn’t have anything to fear from Dr. Install after all.

The next day, he was in his office going over a patient report, when someone knocked on the door, and when Reid called for them to enter, of course it was the new doctor.  
“Dr. Install. What can I do for you?” He even made an effort to not sound overly hostile, not that he really succeeded at that.  
The guy just kept smiling though. “Hi, Dr. Oliver! I just wanted to let you know that I rearranged my schedule so that I will have Friday afternoon off.”  
“Starting the weekend early? I’m sure it’s something important.” Reid hadn’t thought of Dr. Install as a party person, not that there was a place to party in this half-horse town, but maybe he was wrong.  
Dr. Install nodded enthusiastically. “I’m picking my husband up from the airport. He’s finally coming over.”  
At that, Reid couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows. “Your husband?”  
Now Dr. Install frowned. “You got a problem with that?”  
Reid rolled his eyes. What was it with people assuming he was homophobic? “No. I was just thinking that most of this hospital’s occupants are going to be severely disappointed.”  
“Oh? Only most of them? Not you then?” Dr. Install grinned, and Reid had to admire his confidence. Maybe they would get along after all.  
“I have a boyfriend who I’m very committed to, thank you very much”, he replied drily, and Dr. Install’s grin widened.  
“Then the hospital should be used to disappointment, right?”  
“Wow.” Reid shook his head, but he couldn’t fight a smile. Then he said: “Yeah, Luke’s definitely a catch.”  
Dr. Install raised his eyebrows. “Wait, Luke? The guy from the foundation?”  
When Reid nodded, his grin returned. “Double disappointment then”, he concluded, and Reid had to laugh.

This time, when he got home, his mood was considerably better, and of course Luke noticed that too.  
“Something good happen?”, he asked, after Reid had kissed him in greeting.  
“Yeah. Had a great talk with Edvard today. Turns out we have a lot in common.” Because he turned towards the kitchen, he missed the frown that appeared on Luke’s face as he said that.  
“Oh. That’s… great.” Luke sounded entirely unenthusiastic, and Reid turned back around.  
“Luke?”  
“It’s nothing.” Luke was looking at the floor, and Reid knew that is was definitely not nothing.  
With two steps, he was back in front of him, gentling tilting his chin up and placing his other hand on his hip.  
“What’s going on?”  
Luke shrugged, clearly uncomfortable. “I’m just surprised”, he finally said. “I thought you didn’t like him, and now you’re suddenly on first name basis.”  
Reid frowned. “Aren’t you always telling me I should make more friends?”  
“Well, yeah, but not...” Luke bit his lip, clearly conflicted.  
“Not what?” He still had no idea what was going on.  
Luke sighed. “It’s just, he’s so nice, and you’re both doctors, so he must be able to keep up with you intellectually, and he looks _like that_ , and soon you’ll realise that he’s so much better for you.”  
That last bit was barely audible, with Luke looking down again, obviously embarrassed, and Reid knew it was the wrong thing to do, but he couldn’t help but laugh.  
Luke flinched at that, and tried to step away from Reid, but he tightened his hold on him.  
“I’m sorry! I’m not laughing at you! It’s just, I thought the exact same thing about you and him yesterday”, he explained, and Luke’s head shot up.  
“ _What_?”  
Reid shrugged. “You deserve someone like that. Someone kind and warm and caring.”  
Luke was smiling softly now. “But I have you.”  
“Exactly. So when you said you liked him, I thought that I couldn’t compete. That’s why I was so grumpy yesterday. Well, even grumpier than usual”, he admitted, and Luke’s smile turned impossibly softer.  
“Okay, first of all, I can’t believe that _you_ would be insecure. And about _me_ , at that.”  
Reid scoffed. “Yeah, well, I haven’t done this relationship...” He waved his hand. “ _Thing_ in a long time, and as I just said, you’re amazing and deserve the best.” He hated how cheesy this was, but at the same time, he didn’t, because the loving expression on Luke’s face made up for it all.  
“See, that’s my second point. You _are_ all that, you just don’t show it readily. And I am incredibly honoured and lucky that you let me see that side of you.”  
“I think I’m the lucky one here”, Reid countered, before pulling Luke in for a kiss.  
“Oh and by the way, Edvard has a husband anyway”, he said later, and Luke laughed.  
“Guess we have nothing to fear then.”  
Smiling, Reid leaned his forehead against Luke’s. No, nothing to fear at all.


End file.
